Patricia Hernandez

Infocom Games (edit: no, not this Infocom games) seems to have a serious problem with creativity—but they've found a way around it. Here's their secret. Take Minecraft. Combine it with some other popular or good property. Possibly profit? REPEAT.

Block Craft: Iron Ops? Why, that's Minecraft plus Iron Man, of course! Also a shooter, so many I shouldn't give them any points for "originality"—especially when that's probably the most generic genre out there nowadays. I'm impressed by how the name manages to scream VIDEO GAMES while also giving a nod to what it's rippping off, though.

This one might take the cake in terms of number of things that were ripped off. So we've got Minecraft, that one is obvious. The backgrounds are from Fez. The characters seem to be from Street Fighter, Batman, and Power Rangers.

The description itself is kind of hilarious:

****** Time to do it ACE BLOCK JUMP - The coolest app out there! $ 0.99 Limited time only! ********

The first action game, in which we mixed PIXEL and MINECRAFT style ( PIXELCRAFT ). The most exciting and amusing game ever, specially in this new style.

Don't miss this marvelous game, you can meet crazy characters and weapons!

The great block- pixel based shooter game, you must have a try.Don't miss it!!!

Enjoy!

TIME TO DO IT. Wait, what?

I'm curious how much more likely a game is picked up if it looks like Minecraft. Pretty likely, I'm guessing. Else I can't explain why Infocom would rely on Minecraft's style so often—though Minecraft plus Assassin's Creed seems to be a popular, if not a desired mash-up. Even so, Infocom's rip-offs seem ridiculous.